The electoral college system used for Umno’s internal elections is flawed because it favours party “warlords,” losing presidential candidate Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
According to Khairy, the results showed that the majority of Umno members who voted in the party election yesterday chose candidates who promised reforms, but they were left by the wayside.
“The voting system favours warlords who have a strong grip over their respective divisions. Many were instructed, threatened or compelled to follow the choices of the warlords.
“Although I accept the results, I want Umno to change. Discard the feudal mentality. They nod. They clap. It is as though they don’t have their own opinion.
“Most members want change, but the warlords are deaf to the voice of the people,” he said in a Twitter post today.
Khairy also attached a screenshot of the results in his posting.
The results were incomplete, but suggested that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi won the Umno presidential race with the support of 52 percent of 190 Umno divisions, despite gaining just 42.4 percent of the popular vote.
In contrast, Khairy came in second with support from 32.1 percent of 190 divisions, while garnering 35.2 percent of the popular vote.
There are 191 Umno divisions in total. An official announcement on the popular vote has yet to be made at the time of writing.
The electoral college system was introduced in 2013 under the leadership of Najib Abdul Razak.
The system was aimed at rooting out ‘money politics’ – a colloquial term for vote buying – by expanding the voting base from about 2,500 to the 165,000 or so seen in yesterday's polls, and to democratise the election process.
The system does not involve one-person-one-vote, but instead provides the 191 Umno divisions one vote each for each position.
Critics say the system is inherently flawed, as the vote of a division with fewer members carries the same weight as that with a larger membership. -Mkini
Latest, official results from UMNO party HQ. Electoral college votes: @Zahid_Hamidi 99 @Khairykj 61 @tengkurazaleigh 30. Last column is popular vote. Terima kasih semua yang memberi sokongan.
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